Press Release

(WASHINGTON) – Facing the worst economic recession since the Great Depression, President Obama has responded with a green jobs agenda as a major component of his recovery strategy. Combined with restrictions on domestic energy production, the net effect has been jobs lost and a failure to even approach his promised goal of creating five million jobs within ten years. That is the conclusion of a new report released today by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

“When you combine heavy federal promotion of alternative energy with a concerted campaign to restrict domestic energy production, you have a recipe for what we are experiencing right now: a stagnant economy,” Issa added.

Evidence presented in the report highlights the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) using questionable accounting methods to count “green jobs” even though the term is vague, poorly defined, and such jobs are difficult to accurately count.

The report documents President Obama’s efforts to follow many European nations down a path of heavy subsidization to promote alternative energy at the expense of traditional, carbon-based sources. The report outlines how these efforts have failed abroad and in the U.S., and at what cost to the economy.

It also points out that the guise of “green jobs” has become a rallying cry for a political coalition comprised of environmentalists and union leadership to consolidate an ideologically-based agenda, and notes that many federal green jobs programs have strings attached that require union workers, union-level wages and other mandates.

Seemingly at cross-purposes, the Obama Administration has simultaneously promoted traditional energy sources around the world through loans, grants and diplomacy, while actively discouraging it at home. The Obama Administration’s green jobs agenda has also been driven by appearances of political favoritism in the case of Solyndra, a firm that received more than $500 million in publicly-backed loan guarantees.

“There is bipartisan agreement in Congress that all energy solutions need to be on the table, but in a time of unprecedented economic distress and record-high federal budget deficits, the federal government needs to be prudent in investing its limited resources and protect the interests of taxpayers. Affordable energy has been and will continue to be the lifeblood for entrepreneurs and job creators in our economy. Until we ensure this goal is achieved, we will continue to see a stalled economy,” Chairman Issa concluded.

A copy of the Committee report is available here. Information on a related hearing is available here.